A post by Gabriel Long

As we enter the later stages of the Reach Film Fellowship program, I’ve been in post on my short film, Brothers, for about two months. I’ve had several people look at successive versions – including RFF mentors, advisors and Cinereach staff – and made revisions based on their input.

I had been editing the film (which I also wrote and directed) on my own and it had come a long way as I’d explored more and more options. About three weeks ago, however, I realized that I needed to partner with an editor.

I finally made the decision to work with an outside editor – not because I think I’m overly attached to specific material, but because I’m so intimately familiar with each shot and scene, and with the overall story. I’m so close to the project it’s hard for me to anticipate how an audience member watching it for the first time might perceive it and to decide what information they need to have, and when. This realization came primarily out of feedback sessions, where I began to become aware of the disconnect between what I thought certain scenes or shots conveyed and what viewers perceived.

For example, in the opening scene, Nathan, the older of the two brothers featured in my film, comes into the room and tries to get a book away from his younger brother, Joe. The film revolves around the relationship of these two boys as they come into their own under the shadow of a hot-tempered father. Joe has hidden something inside the book that may alienate his brother – his only ally in the family – and Joe needs to appear very scared of being found out in that scene in order to lay the groundwork for the remainder of the story.

A friend watched an early cut and responded to the first scene by saying, “One brother wants to get a book away from the other one and then they talk about football, so what?” To me there was a strong sense of foreboding in the scene but my friend’s reaction helped me realize that it was only because I knew what was going to happen later. I needed to do more to ensure the audience sensed what I wanted them too, without the benefit of the additional context I had.

I went back and re-edited the scene to better highlight the moments where the younger actor looked frightened, and I was also more forceful with the editing of the scene in general. At the moment when Joe hears Nathan coming into the room, for example, I cut from a medium shot of Joe to a close up of his face. With these techniques I was able to create the tense tone I wanted.

There were many similar examples where I found my knowledge of the film interfering with my ability to see it as an audience member would. While I could have continued the editing process by going through the cycle of getting feedback and re-editing as many times as needed, now that I’m working with Editor Cedar Daniels (The Third Wave), I can shortcut the cycle. In effect, he is a filmmaking-savvy audience member capable of correcting the problems I can’t see, in addition to his technical skill as an editor. Not only will editing move faster, but I’ll end up with a better, more polished film.

RFF 2010 Fellow Gabriel Long (mentored by Laurie Collyer) has done extensive work in both narrative and documentary film. Two of his documentary projects were nationally broadcast by Current TV. Swimming New York City documents a swimming race around Governor’s Island, and The Art of Sticks offers a portrait of outdoor sculptor Patrick Doherty. He has also completed seven narrative short films, most recently Adán, which follows a schoolteacher as he travels from his home in Ecuador to New York City, trying to find a friend in the wake of a school shooting. Long recently moved to New York City where he works as an assistant director, editor, and writer. Check out the Brothers blog, and stay current via Facebook and Twitter.